Catch of the Day
by Scribbler
Summary: Pre-canon. Riku is trying desperately to find out what the fishermen pulled out of the sea that is making them all act crazy. They couldn't really have found a mermaid, could they? Sora, however, isn't helping at all.


**Disclaimer****:** Sneakily not mine.

**A/N****:** Written for Challenge #226 at KH Drabble – 'survivor'.

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_**Catch of the Day**_

(c) Scribbler, May 2010.

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Riku waved behind him. "Quit shoving."

"But I can't _see_!" Sora protested.

"There's nothing _to_ see-... quick, back up!" He hastily ducked behind the doorframe and pinned Sora beside him with a hand in the centre of his chest.

Sora wriggled, as Sora was wont to do, because Sora was an idiot with all the stealth of a donkey covered in bells and whistles galloping though town at midnight. "Riku –"

"Shush!" Riku tried his best to keep Sora from giving them away. "I'm trying to listen!"

"Hey guys." Wakka strolled up. If Sora was a jingling donkey, Wakka was a gorilla with cymbals on its knees. He completely missed Riku's gesture to keep quiet. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Riku and me followed the fishermen up from the beach," Sora replied.

Riku wondered how long it would take anyone to find his best friend's body if he buried him really deep.

"They're home already?" Wakka frowned. "But it's barely lunchtime."

"They caught something that made them all act crazy. They were running around worse than when that tourist boat got caught in the nets and tore them up."

Wakka's face darkened. Tourists would soon take over as the Destiny Islands' primary income, but that didn't mean indigenous people had to like it. So far, all visitors had been loud, rude, city-types. They'd left garbage on the beach, declared the towns 'retro-quaint' and the people 'adorable'. Since Wakka's goal in life was to be the world's strongest man (or win the regional pie-eating contest), this hadn't gone down well.

"We don't know what they found." Sora looked at Riku. "Yet."

"Oh." Wakka took up position next to Sora. "So this is a stake-out? Cool."

Riku rolled his eyes and went back to listening. He heard voices, but not actual words. He strained, and nearly jumped out of his skin when someone whispered, "Eavesdroppers only ever hear bad things about themselves."

Riku uttered a word that would have turned sand into glass.

"Potty mouth," Selphie grinned.

"How did you creep up on me like that?" Riku glared at Sora and Wakka. "You guys are meant to be on look-out!"

"Yeah," Sora said blithely. "For _adults_. Selphie's one of us. Only, y'know –" Spots of colour appeared on his cheeks. "- a girl."

Riku wondered whether he could advertise for a new best friend in the newspaper.

"You wanna know what the fishermen pulled out of the sea." Selphie's voice held a smug note. "Don't you?"

"And I suppose you already know?"

"Of course."

"You do?" Sora tried to break ranks. Riku pinned him in place again. Honestly, if it weren't for him, Sora would run off into every misadventure in existence after a pretty face. Didn't he _know_ girls were bad news? Maybe Riku wouldn't advertise after all. Sora wouldn't last a day without him.

"Tidus was there –" Selphie started.

"Hi guys." Tidus wandered up, hands behind his head. He dropped them at Riku's glower. "Uh... everything okay?"

"What'd the fishermen find?" Sora asked eagerly.

"Sora–"

"Yeah!"

"Wakka–"

"You won't believe it."

"Tidus–"

"It's totally unbelievable!"

"Selphie–"

"Telltelltelltell–"

"Will you all just SHUT UP! I'm TRYING to LISTEN!"

"What's all this noise?" The mayor appeared in the doorway.

Riku straightened so fast the back of his head cracked Sora in the nose.

"Owwwww!"

The mayor looked around at their guilty faces. He frowned. "Eavesdropping, Riku? I thought better of you."

Riku turned the colour of raw hamburger. "Umm..." Then he noticed something strange about the mayor: the little girl clutching his hand, trying to hide behind him.

"Who's that?" Sora waved. "Hi! I've never seen you before."

Tentatively, the girl waved back.

The mayor looked between them all. A thoughtful expression crossed his face. "Children, this is Kairi. She's new in town and needs looking after..."

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_**Fin. **_

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End file.
